I have a question about ELEP (electricity cost) variable in the ACS data (1 year estimates) for Puerto Rico. I understand that ELEP variable has been rounded to nearest 10. However, there are values equal to 2 and equal to 4. From data dictionary, I gathered that 2 is supposed to represent NAs, but I am not sure what is the meaning of ELEP=4? I’d appreciate your input.
From my review of the ACS codebook, it appears that ELEP can range between $3-$9,999 and is rounded and top coded. I was not able to find any cases of ELEP = 2 in any of the recent Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) data. Would you be able to tell me for which years you’re seeing these values?
The value bbbb is supposed to represent NAs, while values within the mentioned range are valid responses. My understanding therefore is that ELEP = 4 represents respondents who either reported spending $4 on electricity in the previous month or whose reported value was rounded to $4. The values are occasionally allocated by census; these edits are documented in the editing procedure tab for COSTELEC and allocated cases are identified with the flag variable QCOSTELE. However, it appears that the majority of cases of ELEP = 4 were not allocated. Note that IPUMS harmonizes ELEP from the ACS and releases it in the variable COSTELEC.